The road isn't as glamorous as people think. Traveling around North America, staying in nice hotels and having the chance to eat in upscale restaurants isn't a hardship, but there are some long nights.
A perfect example is Edmonton at Columbus this past Friday night. The Ohio area was being blasted by a snowstorm that was going to turn into a blizzard by Saturday, so after a 2-1 overtime win for the Oilers, it was off to the airport.
It all seemed easy: An 11 p.m. flight, an hour in the air and another half-hour on the bus to the hotel. Add the fact that Edmonton was flying to Chicago, so we would also gain an hour. Simple right?
Wrong.
When the Oilers arrived at the airport, the weather was bad the airport had to be de-iced. The only problem was that they couldn't de-ice one of the landing strips and a 737 went sliding off the end of that runway. About a dozen emergency vehicles later, everyone on that plane was fine, but I'm not sure everyone on our plane was.
Even the most confident of flyers had to be a little shaken. A potential tragedy was averted, yet it was close enough for everyone to see. If I had a dollar for every time one of the flight personnel was asked "Are we OK to take off?" I'd be buying the team, not Darryl Katz.
An hour and a half late, off we went and despite a few bumps and some tense moments on the climb (or at least they were for me), we made it. We were one bus ride away from sleep, instead we got stuck on the plane.
Why? Barack Obama. The U.S. presidential candidate arrived at the same time as the Oilers. He was given precedence to get off his plane first, so for security reasons we couldn't leave our aircraft and had to wait for another 40 minutes.
The Oilers personnel tried to take the team equipment off the plane, but the Secret Service put a quick stop to it.
Apparently a presidential race is more important than a playoff race. And so ended another "glamorous" night on the road.
only real hardship i see is you have to watch the oilers all the time...
WAH, WAH WAH.
I thought these blogs had to be sports related?
The Oilers are clearly a high profile Canadian terrorist organization that boasts members from the al-Queda, Taliban, and Fidel Castro himself. You never know when one of Stoll's sticks might explode by itself and impale presidential candidates.
Good lord, sometimes I think US security precautions have to be a joke.
Yup, I'm sure cleaners, health care workers, bus drivers and warehouse workers everywhere can relate.
This is the first time I have posted here and I have to start by saying that I'm dissapointed that so many people have nothing better to do than mock and complain. Travel is a part of sports.
That's nothing Gino.
We drove 700 Klm's (9.5 hrs)from Toronto to Columbus in the blizzard just to see the last half of the game & to celebrate a Bday.
Level 3 snowstorm meant it was illegal to drive (yes - ticket or jail), so we were stuck in a hotel for two nights.
Game 5 in Carolina, flew into the hurricane and were almost diverted to a different airport.
Oil won both games in OT.
What playoff race? I think you meant the Stamkos sweepstakes.
Every player in the dressing room would tell you that the playoff race is on until the team is mathematically eliminated. Whether or not the race is realistic is another story but as far as the Oilers go, they are going to do their best to get as far away from the Stamkos sweepstakes as possible.
Gene, thanks for your blog. Its the only one I read. the_schauff, you are being hypocritical. You are complaining, Gene never complained, he laid out the scenario of the glamour-less road trip. Go oilers go.